Dez Loves That Cowboys Are Hated

Wide receiver Dez Bryant of the Dallas Cowboys taunts fans before the Dallas Cowboys take on the Philadelphia Eagles at Cowboys Stadium on December 2, 2012 in Arlington, Texas. (credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

IRVING (CBS SPORTS) – It’s hard not to expect great things from Dez Bryant in 2013. He’s coming off a monster stretch run to close out 2012, when he produced 50 catches, 879 yards and 10 touchdowns in his final eight games.

He doesn’t mind the target on his back, however. In fact, Bryant said recently he relishes it and that the reason he loves being a member of the Cowboys is because people “love to hate” Dallas’ football team. “I feel like the greatest thing about being on the Cowboys [is] people love to hate the Cowboys,” Bryant told the Dallas Morning News. “That makes you work 10 times harder. They put the big target on us or whatever, and speaking for myself, it doesn’t bother me.”

There’s no telling what made Bryant summon his inner Baldwin Brother when discussing the football team he plays for, but it’s good to see the often-scrutinized-but-secretly-maturing wideout get pumped up about repping his team.

Of course, later on Tuesday he changed his tune quite a bit, complaining about the media and the “twist” they (we?) put on players’ words. “I’m never talking with the media outside of valley ranch all they do is twist your words,” Bryant tweeted.

Best I can tell, Bryant’s a little miffed about the fact he said it was possible for him to top 2,000 yards in 2013 and a bunch of people freaked out that he was being selfish.